Secrets of Aromatherapy’s Efficacy for Body and Mind Balance

Aromatherapy is believed to evoke mood, soothe, and even increase concentration just by smelling the aroma. This argumentation arises not without reason, people will not easily believe for no apparent reason. There is a hidden secret behind the efficacy of aromatherapy, a secret that will be revealed in this article.

Just as the name suggests, aroma is the most important component in aromatherapy. Aroma also becomes our most primitive sensing because it is directly responded by the limbic system of our brain to sort out the conditions around us. In other words, aroma is the basic stimulus of the human instinct associated with psychological and physiological responses.

Aroma is very influential to us. It is strong, provocative, and unavoidable. The evolution of our sense of smelling is the most instinctive evolution than any other sensing. This makes us able to distinguish more than 10.000 aromas around us.

For instance, when we walk among flower in the garden and breathe in the scent of flowers, the aroma will stimulate our brain and give positive reactions like pleasure or satisfaction. On the contrary, if we smell the scent like rotting vegetable in the kitchen, we will certainly give a negative response and avoid it.

Fragrant aroma produces different reactions to those who inhale. Scientific studies explain that the aroma is able to affect mood, memory, emotions, interest, and other positive responses. This study of aroma is the essence of the explanation of how aromatherapy works.

Our brain responds to everything around us, including the fragrant and odor which when the molecule is received by the body, our nervous system quickly reacts. Our brain has several waves when it works and responds to its environment. From some of those waves, the rhythm of alpha waves greatly influences our thoughts and emotions. Aromas produced by plants such as chamomile and lavender are able to induce the brain to produce alpha waves and provoke a positive response to ourselves, such as peace of mind, comfortable, and especially making our visual ability better. In such condition the efficacy of aromatherapy works physiologically and psychologically.

The efficacy of aromatherapy is no longer the secret of the ancestors. We have gotten the explanation from scientific studies of evolution, sensing, and brainwaves by experts. For that reason, the efficacy of aromatherapy that is able to balance the harmony of body and mind is not a myth.